Machine for the manufacture of tire casings



May 5, 1925. 1,536,4E9 w. c. STEVENS MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF FIRE CASINGS Original F'iled Nov. 14, 1918 4 Sheets-Sheet l Mag 5, 1925. w. c. STEVENS MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TIRE CASINGS Original Filed Nov. 14 1918 4 Sheets- 511991; 2

v W. C. STEVENS MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF TIRE cAsmss Original Filed Nov. 14 1918 4 $heets-Sheet 5 May-5, '1 92-5.

' w. c. STEVENS MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OFTIRE GASINGS Original Filed Nova 14, 1918 4 Sheets sheet 4 0000 0 4000 0 0 0 00 00000000000 0 0 0 0 0 0 0000 0 00 0 0000 00000 00000 00 5. 0 0 0 000 00000 00000000000 000000 0000 0 0 0 0 0 0 000 0 0 0000a 0 -0%%z 0 00000 00000%%00000 0 0000.0 00 00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 90 0000000000 00 K9004 w wn 0 r n n n ngwnwv n n n m xfl?$$nkn-fl$0hfi0n$h0wk%0vvvg?0W0 hh0?0.%?V?$ 00V0 0-$0$ 0-0 00 0 0 000000 0,00 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 00 00.00.03. 0 v 00.0, 00 0.00.00 00 0 0 MN MW l atenteel i i lay ti, 19225.

cuiren star unease Es PATENT orsice.

WILLIAM C. STEVENS, 0F AKRON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO TIEIEFIREETOINTE [HERE AND RUBBER COMPANY, QF AKRON, OHIO, A CORPORATION Q13 DI-I10.

MACHINE non rrenorao'runn or TIRECASINGS.

Application filed November 14, 1918, Serial No. 262,495. Renewed .llpril 23 1921. Serial No. 163,9051.

Y '0 (ill 107A 01% may con-corn i lie it known that I, lVILLmM C. S'rnvnNs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Akron, in'the county of Sunnnit, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for the Manntactnre ofTire Casings, of which the fol lowing is a specification. 1 V

In the manufacture of tires it has been the practiceheretofore to assemble the parallel strips of bias fabric in a continuous strip which is rolled up between turns of cotton liner into rolls which are placed in the tire machines.

The present method of handling fabric presents many disadvantages which it is the purpose of the present invention to overconic the mechanism herein shown being an iIDPPOVtlnGDt on that shown and described in my prior Patent No. 1,398,? 41-9, Novcn'il'ier 29, 19531. reissue Patent No. 15,772, dated February 19, 19241.

By the use of the apparatus herein shown the fabric passes directly from tables on which it is assembled in continuous strips, dircctlyto the tire machine. hen led directly from assembling tables the apparatus disliwnscs with the use of the cotton liner which has been used heretofore in the faln-ic rolls. Furthern'iore, the stock coincs fresh from the tables and is in better condition to be made into the tire carcass. .One of the features of the apparatus herein shown is V the mechanism for forming a loop or storage supply of the fabricby means of which sutlicient fabricis at hand to be used in the 1nachine and the worlnnan is enabled. to observe the location of the splices inthe oncoming fabric so as to be able to position the fabric to avoid thcsuperposiug of splices.

The apparatus forn'iing the subject matter of this invention comprises a tire making nmchino of any well known type. it being preferred to use that form of machine which is shown and described in my copcndiui;- application. Serial No. 256. 129 tiled October 1. 191th thisbeing particularly applicable for use in connection with the apparatus for the reason that the first or under bead layers of fabric are applied and shaped to the core at one point while the over bead layers are applied and shapi-id to the core at a second po nt on the machine. In accordance with the ractice in the art, the layers of fabric which compose the carcass are of differing widths due to their positions in the carcass and with relation to the bead. "llhe fabric is, therefore formed into narrow and wide strips which are led to the points of application where the appropriate shaping mecha nism is located.

I Although the particular forin of tire ma chine hasbeen shown in which the core is moved to different stations, thefabric supplying mechanism is not necessarily limited to that form of niachineas it may be used with other types of machines, as will be apparent.

In the drawings there is shown one form of apparatus for carrying out the present invention, but it is obvious that changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. 1

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus.

to Fig. 1. Fig. 3 Fig; 1.

Fig. .1- is a plan view of the assembling tables.

in the form of the invention shown herein the pieces of fabric out on the bias are Wound up in a roll. of liner fabric 1 in the condition in which they are received from the bias cutter. The liner is unrolled by any suitable inechanisin over a horizontal surface leaving the fabric strips exposed in position to removed by the operator. The fabric is out on the bias cutter in two widths for thereasons explained heretofore the narrow or under-bead pieces being shown at 2 and the wide or over-bead pieces being shown at 3. Inplace of the rolls of fabric and liner as showm it is possible to use books .or other equivalent devices for storing the bias fabric after being received from the bias cutter, or to lead the pieces directly from the bias cut-- ter. to the points at which they are assembled.

Between the two supplies of bias pieces, howeverarranged, is placed an assembling table -I1- divided longitudinally by a strip 55, providing surfaces on which the fabric pieces are placed end to end and spliced by the assemblers who stand between the bias supplies and "the table. The continuous strip of narrow fabric is shown at 6 and the Wide fabric at 7. At the forward end of the table are arranged fabric guides 8 for each strip, through which the fabric passesto pairs of rolls 9 and 10, the lower one of each pair is a section on the line 33 of .3. 2 is a front elevation at right angles being provided with a sprocket wheel 11, over which is trained a sprocket chain 12 to a second sprocket 13 provided with a handle Ll. \Vhen the table is tilled, the operator ro tates the crank l t passing the strip of fabric. through the rolls and into the machine. A detent or latch 15 is arranged to engage with some part of the mechanism to constitute a stop device to prevent the passage of the fabric when the tire making machine is full or when sufficient fabric has been passed out. from the assembling table, the operation of which feature will be described later.

The two strips of fabric pass in parallelism from the rolls 9 and 10 over a guide roller 16 and through a hole 17 in the floor to the remainder of the apparatus which is preferably located on the floor below or at a lower level.

Under the forward end of the table is arranged a tire machine, which is of the form shown in my prior application above identified, which comprises a base 18 which sup ports a revoluble turntable 19 on which are arranged a number of core supporting and revolving standards 20. Four of these standards are shown supporting cores 21, each of which is rotated from any suitable source of power, through a clutch 22, which is arranged to be connected or disconnected by a lever 23 shifting the movable member 2% of the clutch.

Located centrally of the turn table is a stationary platform 25 which supports a stretching mechanism designed to elongate the bias fabric centrally and deliver it to the core. This mechanism may be of any desirable type, the one shown herein being preferred by me. Two of these stretching mechanisms are provided, one for each width of fabric, and located on opposite sides of the machine to operate upon the different widths of fabric, and to deliver the fabric to the cores in their two positions. i

Each stretching mechanism comprises a standard or pair of standards 26 011 the lower ends of which are pivoted swinging arms 27, provided with lever mechanism 28 to raise and lower them. Midway of each arm is mounted a retarding roller 29 which is connected by suitable gearing 30 to a stretching roller ill, the arrangement being such that a certain percentage of stretch is imparted to the fabric.

At this point it will be noted that the cores occupy the four positions shown in the drawing. at which points, A, B, C, and D. respectively, the first plies are laid on the core, the beads applied, the second or over-bead plies are placed on the core, the carcass trimmed, the finished carcass removed and a new core put in place.

At positions A and C are arranged any suitable form of shaping mechanism to shape the fabric to the core. Spinningrollers 32 are shown, which are arranged to be advanced radially of the core to shape the fabric to the core; This form of shaping mechz'inism may be replaced by any other suitable device for laying the fabric to the core. It will also be noted from an inspection of Fig. 3 that the stretching mechanism and cores are not in a direct line so that the two lengths of fabric can be fed to the two differ-cut positions without interference, the fabric guides 8 being spaced apart a distance commensurate with the distance between the two cores.

Between the fabric assembling tables and the tire machine is arranged a festooning device or loop-forming mechanism. In the form shown this mechanism comprises pairs of parallel rods 33 which serve as guides for freely movable dance rolls 34: and at the upper end of the guides are mounted rolls In the central part of the table are secured uprights 36 to the upper end of which. at 37 is pivoted, so as to be capable of i'noving freely, a guide plate 38 midway whereof is a roller 39. Each strip of fabric passes from the roller 16 down over the dance roller, up to the guide roller 35, into the guiding plate 38 and around the roller 39. A counter weight 40 is fastened to the lower end of the guide and serves to yieldingly maintain it in upright position, allowing it to move should the fabric run a little out of true. This device insures that the fabric will be fed straight into the tire machines and will not crinkle or buckle in its passage. From the roller 39 each strip of fabric pass s between two guide rollers ll on the upper end of the standards over a plate 4-2 and into the stretching mechanism.

On the top of the plate 25 are pivoted two levers or triggers 4 3, each of which projects between the pairs of guides 33 at the lowermost point, being arranged so that the roller 34- rests on the lever at the limit of its downward travel. The arm 43 is connected to a second arm 44 which is in turn connected to a rod The upper end of each rod is connected to a second lever 4.6 which operates a second rod 47, the upper end of which is jointed to the pivoted deteut 15 described above. A weight .8 is suspended from the dog 15, the tendency of which is to release the dog from engagement with the sprocket.

When the roll 34- zpproaches the bottom of its travel. at which point it strikes the end of the lever 43, the detent is forced into engagement with the sprocket and feeding of the fabric is arrested. lVhen, however. the fabric is drawn off by the rotation of the core, through the stretching mecha nism the roll 334iis raised. releasing the dog. and the fabric may be fed out from the as;- sembling tables. By this arrangement. the

too

operator at the assembling table cannot pass fabric out faster than it can be used by the machine, leaving exposed in the loop slightly more fabric than necessary for a single operation. at each point about the mach ne.

It will be seen, that the detent and its thermore, the arrangen'ient may constitute a means of signallingbetween the tire machine operator and the. assembling"! table operator. It will also be noted that the detent constitutes: a feed stopping or restraining device which is released when the core rotated to draw fabric from the loop, as thedrawing of the fabric raises the dance rollertlrom the lever, whereupon the detent drops away from its sprocket Wheel.

h'lfany of the details shoivn in this application may be varied Without departing from this invention. The forniot' tire making machine maybe varied and instead of having a machine With a core shifting ap paratus, as shown, the core may bemaintained in one place and the fabric ted to the core from two differentsources to feed the differing widths of fabric. The loop forming mechanism may be varied and the stretching m echanisn'i shown is given only as an example Other modifications may be made Without changing the invention or departing from the scope of the appended claims.

I claim r i 1. In a machine for iminufacturing; tires, the combination of an assembling table, a tire making machine, means for conducting fabric from said assembling table to said tire machine comprising guide rollers over whichthe Fabric passes to the macliine, and a dance roller for Forming an "intermediate loop in said fabric between the machine and the assembly table.

2. in a machine for manil-factoring tires, the combination of an assemblingtable, a tire making machine, stretching; meclninisin on said tire niacl'line, guide rollers for conducting said fabric from said assembling table into said stretching" n-iechanisn'i, a pair of guide rods, and a dance roller arranged to move on said rods to term a loop in said fabric.

3. In a machine for manufacturing tires, the con'ibination of an assembling table, a tire making machine, a core supported on said macliine, means to shift said core in two positions, means to guide two strips of bias fabric from the table to the core in its two positions, and means governed by the rotation 01' the core for permitting said fabric to pass from sa d assembling table.

a. In a machine for manufacturing tires,

the combination of an assembling table, a tire making machine, a core rotatably supported on said machine, means for guiding said fabric from the table to the core, and governing mechanism controlled by the drawing of the fabric on to said core to control the operation of said guiding means.

5. In ainachine for manufacturing tires, the combination of an assembling 'able, a tire making machine, a corerotatably sup ported on said machine, means for feeding; said fabric from the table to said core, a

' detent to-pre-vent the feeding of said :labric,

and means aeti-iatable upon drawing; of the fabrioon the core tor releasing said detent. 6. In tI1'l2l0l1lHGjli0l' mannfacturmg, tires,

the combination of an assembling table, a tire making machine, a core rotatably supe ported on said machine, rollers at said table for conducting said fabric. toward the tire .machine, a detent to prevent the rotation o't said roller, and means for releasing" said detent operable upon drawing of said fabric on: the core.

In a machine for mamrtactin'in the combination ol' tires, an assembling table, a

tire making machine, a core rotatabl y supported on said machine, means tor feeding the fabric iii-om the'tableto the machine, a stop device for said feeding device, a loop forming roller, and stop actuating mechanism in the path of said loop forming roller.

ZSJIH' an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the con'ibination of a source of supply for'the fabric, a tire machine, a support for a plurality of cores on said machine, means for shittingsaid cores into two positions on said machine, means for feeding said fabric from the source of supply to the cores in their two positions, and stop mechanism for preventing the feeding of said fabric.

9, In. an apparatus for mamifaeturiinr tires, the combi nation of a fabric assembling);

fabric from the table to the tire machine,

means for restraining said leedinn' means,

and means operable upon actuation of said tire machine to IQlltlt-l said restraining means inefl cc-tire.

10. In an apparatus "for manulacturing tires, the coi'i'ibirnition of a fabric assembling: table, a tire machine. a support for a plu rality o l cores on said machine, means for shifting saidcores into two positions on said machine, means for feeding said fabric from the assembling table to the cores in their two positions, and stop mechanism for pre ventinp; the feeding of said fabric.

11. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the combination of a source of supply for fabric, a tire making machine, means for lit) feeding said fabric from the source of supply to said machine, loop forming mechanism between the source of supply and the machine, and means operable 0n the formation of a loop to arrest said feeding means.

12. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the combination of a source of fabric supply, a tire machine, a support for a plurality of cores on said machine, means for shifting said cores into two positions on said machine, means for feeding said fabric from its source to said machine, loop forming mechanism between the source of supply and the machine, and means operable on the formation of a loop to arrest said feeding means.

13. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the combination of a source of fabric supply, a tire machine, means for feeding said fabric from its source to said machine, a dance roller around which said fabric passes on its Way to the machine and a signalling device in the path of said dance roller communicating with the source of supply.

14. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the combination of a fabric assembling table, a tire machine, means for feeding said fabric from the assembling table to said machine, a dance roller around which said fabric passes on its way to the machine and a signalling device in the path of said dance roller indicating the amount of fabric between the table and the machine.

15. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the combination of a tire machine, supporting means at which the fabric is assembled to form a strip, means for feed ing said fabric strip direct to said machine from the point of assembly, and a signalling device from said machine to said supporting means.

16. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the combination of a tire machii'ie, supporting means at which the fabric is assembled to form a strip, means for feeding said fabric strip direct to said machine from the point of assembly, loop forming mechanism, and a signalling device at the assen'rbly point actuated by said loop forming mechanism.

17. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the (-ombimition of a tire machine, supporting means at which the fabric is assembled to form a strip, means for feeding said fabric from the point of assen'ibly to said machine, stretching mechanism on said machine, and a pivoted fabric guide for passing said fabric into said stretching mechanism.

18. In an apparatus for manufacturing tires, the con'ibination of a tire machine, supporting means at which the fabric is assembled to form a strip, means for feeding said fabric strip from the point of assembly to said machine, loop forming mechanism, stretching mechanism, and a pivoted guide for passing said fabric strip into said stretching mechanism.

19. In a tire making machine, a source of fabric supply, a core, means for feeding fabric from the source of supply to the core, a storage supply forming mechanism between the source of supply and the core, and means actuated by the filling or exhaustion of the storage supply to render the feeding means inoperative or operative, respectively.

20. In a tire making machine, a guiding member through which the fabric passes on its way to the core, said guide being yieldingly mounted on a pivot located at the center line of the fabric to shift the fabric laterally.

21. In a tire making machine, a guiding member, a single pivotal support for the guiding member, said guiding members contacting the edges of the fabric, and being shiftable by lateral shifting of the fabric.

22. In a tire making machine a roller over which the fabric passes on its way o the core, a pivotal mounting for said roller whereby the axis of the roller may be tilted, a member attached to the roller mounting adapted to contact the fabric and be moved bv the lateral shifting of the fabric.

23. In a tire making machine, a roller over which the fabric passes on its way to the core, a pivoted mounting for said roller whereby the axis of the roller may be tilted, a guiding plate movable with the axis of the roller, adapted to receive the fabric and be moved by the lateral shifting thereof.

24. A tire making machine having in combination, a source of fabric supply, a core, fabric feeding means adapted to create a reserve supply of fabric between the source of supply and the core, and means for automatically controlling the operation of said feeding means.

25. A tire making machine having in combination, a source of fabric supply, a core, a festooning device located between the source of supply and the core, and means for automatically controllingthe amount of fabric in the festoon.

26. A tire making machine having in combination, a source of fabric supply, a. core, a fostooning device located between the source of supply and the core, and means actuated bythe rotation o f the core for controlling the amount of fabric in the festoon.

27. A tire making machine having in combination, a source of fabric supply, a core, and means driven independently of the core for feeding the fabric from said supply to the core, the said. means being controlled by the rotation of the core.

28. A tire making machine having in combination, a plurality of cores, a source oi? fabric supply for each of said cores, means forfeecling the fabric to the cores adapted to create reserve supplies of fabric between the respective supplies and cores,

and means controlled by the rotation of the cores for controlling the operation of the feeding means.

29. A tire making: machine having in combination, a plurality of rotating cores, sources offabric supply for the cores, festooning devices located between the supply sources and the cores, and means actuated by the rotation of the cores for controlling the amount of fabric in the festoons.

WILLIAM C. STEVETS. 

